This invention relates to a bicycle rack and, more particularly, to a rack for holding a bicycle by its front or back wheel in an upright position on a support surface.
Many types of racks and stands have been used for holding bicycles in a parked upright position. A commonly used stand for holding a bicycle in its normal upright position is the xe2x80x9ckick standxe2x80x9d, i.e., a bar swingably mounted to the frame of a bicycle. However, bicycles such as racing bicycles and mountain bicycles are not equipped with kick stands to reduce weight and increase performance. These bicycles are typically xe2x80x9cparkedxe2x80x9d by either laying them flat on their sides or by resting them in an upright position against a wall or the like structure. These parking methods often result in damage to the bicycle as when, for example, a bicycle slides and falls away from the wall against which it has been rested.
Several types of stand-alone stands and racks have been used to hold and store such bicycles. However, a majority of these are bulky and heavy structures which require assembly and need to be permanently secured to the floor. These racks are generally made to hold numerous bicycles and are not adaptable for holding only one or two bicycles. What is needed is a bicycle rack that is relatively light weight and easy to use as by the average consumer in his or her garage. The rack should be easily adaptable to hold as many bicycles as desired.
The present invention provides an inexpensive, light weight, compact and portable bicycle rack which avoids the disadvantages of the various bicycle stands and racks in use today.
The present invention provides a rack adapted to be fitted on an elongate frame for holding a bicycle by its wheel in a upright position on a bicycle support surface such as a floor.
The bicycle rack includes a bracket which is adapted to be fitted on the elongate support frame. The rack includes a lower brace member which is coupled to and extends outwardly from the bracket and an upper brace member which is coupled to and extends upwardly from the bracket. The brace is adapted such that the wheel of the bicycle can be rolled along the bicycle support surface directly into the lower brace member for holding the bicycle in its upright position on the bicycle support surface.
In one embodiment, the bracket is a rectangularly shaped sleeve fitted onto an elongate rectangularly shaped support frame such as, for example, an elongate strip of wood, commonly referred to as a 2 by 4, which is seated on the bicycle support surface.
In one embodiment, the lower brace member is rotatable in a horizontal plane relative to the bracket includes a pair of spaced-apart arms which extend outwardly from the top face of the bracket and terminate in a downwardly extending generally U-shaped lip including a closed end adapted to abut the bicycle support surface.
The upper brace member includes a pair of spaced-apart arms which extend generally upwardly from the outer- side face of the bracket and are in alignment with the arms respectively of the lower brace member. The upper brace member includes a proximal portion where the arms are bent inwardly at an acute angle relative to the bracket and a distal portion where the arms are bent outwardly at an obtuse angle relative to the proximal portion.
The present invention affords several advantages. Initially, the sleeve allows a rack or a plurality of racks to be quickly and easily slid onto an elongate 2 by 4 for holding one or a plurality of differently sized bicycles in spaced-apart relationship. The sleeve structure allows the rack to be used at public parks, schools or other venues such as bicycle races where several bicycles must be held in place. The sleeve structure allows such a multiple stand-alone rack embodiment to be quickly and easily disassembled and stored away. Moreover, the sleeve structure allows racks to be mounted on opposite sides of the 2 by 4 for holding bicycles on both sides of the 2 by 4.
Another advantage of the rack is the lip on the lower brace member which, unlike current racks, allows a bicycle to be rolled directly into the rack without lifting the bicycle.
An advantage of the upper brace member is that the proximal portion extends inwardly into the spoke area of the bicycle wheel and provides a convenient structure around which a bicycle lock can be extended to lock the bicycle to the rack. The outwardly extending distal portion of the upper frame member allows the wheel of the bicycle to be easily lifted upwardly away from the rack where it is preferable to lift the bicycle out of the rack as, for example, where the rack is used in a confined area where there is no room to roll the bicycle out of the rack.